In Brief

By Dee Ann Rexroat | November 12, 2013

Presidents, Past and Present

Years of alumni leadership are represented in this picture of Alumni Board presidents past and present, taken at the dedication of two memorial trees planted in honor of Bev Moser Perlenfein (who worked with them as Alumni Office coordinator) and Clyde Perlenfein ‘57. From left: Ann Holcomb Carlson ‘55, Lisa Naaktgeboren ’90, Lu Ann White ‘78, Allan Ruter ‘76, Sheila Kruse Boyce ‘85, Fred Holtz ‘86, Mike Conklin ‘69, and Joe Campanelli ‘69.
Credit: Allan Ruter ’76

A more sustainable Orange Carpet

As the Thomas Commons transformed around the sunken floor of the atrium, the Orange Carpet had its own makeover. Since 1966 the OC has hosted student symposiums, fundraisers, swing dances, pet therapy, and presidential candidates. It’s been danced on, shed on, and stained so many times that the college has had to replace the entire not-always-easy-to-find orange-hued carpet every five years or so. Not any more! The latest version of the Orange Carpet is made from 2-foot by 2-foot squares, which can be replaced individually as needed. Students continue to get good use of the OC, and repairs can be made with fewer resources.

Beranek nears a century

Happy 99th birthday to Leo Beranek ’36! Trevor Hazen ’15 and Anh Q. Pham ’16 created an exhibit in Cole Library to celebrate this National Medal of Science recipient considered the pioneer of modern acoustic technology. The exhibit included Beranek’s life story, as written by Professor Leon Tabak; books referencing Beranek’s important contributions to acoustic designs, as well as his part in the formation of the Internet; his Cornell thesis, “Theory of Thermionic Emission;” and his autobiography, Riding the Waves.

Class of ’58 honors Robert Dana

The class of 1958 came to Cornell at the same time as legendary English professor R.P. Dana, and members of the class felt a special bond with him. During their 55th reunion, they honored Dana with a $50,000 gift to fund the R.P. Dana Emerging Writer Fellow for two years. The Fellow lives and works in the Van Etten-Lacy House, home of the college’s Center for the Literary Arts.

Showing Purple Pride

Students, alumni, community members, and donors got together at Ash Park on Sept. 7 to celebrate the Rams’ first home football game on the artificial turf installed this past summer. The afternoon included free popcorn, temporary tattoos, and, best of all, a Cornell victory—45–14 over Lawrence University.

Meet our newest alumni

Artist Josephine Liu, financial analyst Stephanie Ryan, chemist Jose Martinez, and community activist Alex DiCicco are a few of the 2013 Cornell College graduates using their Cornell educations in the pursuit of their individual passions.

Liu is spending a year doing post-baccalaureate studies at the San Francisco Art Institute, Ryan is working with the finance team of the global engineering firm CH2M Hill in the Denver area, Martinez is in a chemistry Ph.D. program at Northwestern University, and DiCicco is working with City Year, where he serves as a teacher’s aide and runs programs before and after school.

Our newest alumni are traveling all over the United States to take part in programs such as Teach for America and pursuing further education from institutions such as the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Iowa.

Profiles of Ryan, Martinez, DiCicco, Liu, and more are on the Cornell website.

Valuable recognition

The value of a Cornell education was recognized by two publications—the “Fiske Guide to Colleges” and Kiplinger’s. For the fourth time in five years, the Fiske Guide called Cornell one of 20 “Best Buys” in higher education for its combination of value, affordability, and academic reputation. Kiplinger’s again named Cornell to its list of the 100 best values in liberal arts colleges. Our value isn’t the only thing that’s been recognized; Cornell was also named to the list of colleges with the best dining halls by bestcolleges.com.